Dealers are franchises. Franchisors (in this case Triumph) expect franchisees to jump through lots of hoops, and spend lots of money,to get and keep their franchises. They are always coming up with new rules and requirements for franchisees. The people who make these decisions have no financial interest in the franchise, often no experience actually running a small business and are usually isolated from the effects of their decisions.
An acquaintance of mine is a partner in several McDonalds franchises. McDonalds, the franchisor, makes almost all of the actual decisions that affect his business. What they will sell, what equipment they will buy, what their hours will be, when to remodel, what contractors they will use and many others as well. But, the partners take 100% of the business risk.
Franchisors are rather like the government. They take their share of revenue off the top regardless of the bottom line. They want to make all the important decisions while taking none of the risk. Very few of their employees have ever actually run a franchise and if the franchise goes belly up they get to keep their job. They often make decisions they would never make if they, the franchisor, had to actually pay for them rather than passing the cost on to the franchisee.
Is it any wonder some decide to pack it in?
